More than anything else, Trump loves winning. Yet he has already positioned America to lose the 21st century, in three simple steps: 1. Alienate your friends. 2. Destroy your business environment. 3. Slaughter your golden goose (i.e., science and research). wapo.st/41iUzAW - ThreadSky

crampell.bsky.social • 8 days ago

More than anything else, Trump loves winning. Yet he has already positioned America to lose the 21st century, in three simple steps: 1. Alienate your friends. 2. Destroy your business environment. 3. Slaughter your golden goose (i.e., science and research).

https://wapo.st/41iUzAW

Comments

sturmyweather.bsky.social•8 days ago

Then we must redefine “winning”.

oeishik.bsky.social•8 days ago

Donald will make America last in almost every arena if he continues the way he is right now. https://youtu.be/i9If_4f_604

dollyllama.bsky.social•7 days ago

Donny has one tool that he knows how to use. A hammer. Pound everything. And he hasn't selected anyone around him with a different tool. Anyone with different tools must abandon them and only use Donnys tool. The problem is, you can't build much of anything with just a hammer.

centristsisyphus.bsky.social•8 days ago

I used to love your WaPo columns, Catherine. I hope you have your resume out.

brendanamartin.bsky.social•8 days ago

I have one critique of this otherwise fine column. It doesn’t go to motive. What could the motive of a Putin-Trump axis be?….

stevennicholson.bsky.social•8 days ago

Putin rules through personal loyalty, controls Russia’s state apparatus, and enriches himself. Trump envies this model, seeking to reshape U.S. power around personal deals, not institutions. His foreign policy mirrors patrimonial rulers like Putin, Orbán, and Xi.

It's a shared leadership style.

brendanamartin.bsky.social•8 days ago

Very well stated. I’d urge Rampell to add that and not to confine herself to writing about economic and fiscal policy without the ideological (fascist) and geopolitical context (a fascist Axis). She could do a lot better than our brain-dead foreign policy scholars. Let me give you an example…

brendanamartin.bsky.social•8 days ago

…I heard Richard Haass in an NPR interview yesterday (a captive audience in my car) and he was just as hapless as the always timid Ari Shapiro, whose notion of being tough is to play devil’s advocate. Two things stood out:…

brendanamartin.bsky.social•8 days ago

…1. “I just don’t understand” was a refrain with Haass. Well, shit, the public have understood for nine years. The learned helplessnes and failure to attribute motive is pitiful.
2. Haass kept saying “we”,
as if he still had any role in running the country.
Useless, lost, irrelevant, servile.

brendanamartin.bsky.social•8 days ago

Good column, Ms. Rampell, but you forgot tourism:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/ice-german-tourist-detained-immigration?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

mreddie8976.bsky.social•8 days ago

Yes, but it'll take some time for those losses to fully materialize

In the meantime, he'll be telling everyone how *wonderful* everything is

Starting tonight

fairwarning.bsky.social•8 days ago

Measles Are Great Again

buster-99.bsky.social•8 days ago

At this point unless Americans take to the streets in massive numbers the show will go on, it has to, the machine requires it. Simply having Internet influencers bark on Bluesky while asking for donations and subscriptions won't get it done, just makes them rich!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11rtJldAL2k

msdavinci.bsky.social•8 days ago

For trump that is winning. Ultimately he wins by making us all lose and suffer. He’s a psychopath.

mkf24.bsky.social•8 days ago

So true!

jwr99.bsky.social•8 days ago

Thanks for you golden goose analogy. I made the same analogy to friends

jmchristoff.bsky.social•8 days ago

Outstanding piece. Well worth the read. It will make you sick to your stomach though.

ricktaugher.bsky.social•8 days ago

You should be quoting Rick Wilson: ETTD.

canadianbacon66.bsky.social•8 days ago

In his orange tinted world, losing is winning.

tiggersdad.bsky.social•8 days ago

That’s because he’s a nativist, a xenophobe and a moron.

ekierklo.bsky.social•8 days ago

When you open the gates to let the barbarians in.

stevennicholson.bsky.social•8 days ago

Yep, under Trump, the US is functioning more like a personalist, patrimonial regime than a traditional democratic government, risking long-term national decline in favor of short-term political and personal power.

The damage will be immeasurable.

gretasplace.bsky.social•8 days ago

Trump loves winning, meaning pillaging the coffers. He's a narcissist psychopath, it's not about America winning.

aarong83.bsky.social•8 days ago

Surprised daddy Bezos let you run this one

ner430.bsky.social•8 days ago

Gift link
https://wapo.st/41iUzAW

frankwalker.bsky.social•8 days ago

Trump is evil, yes. But let’s not forget that he is also very very dumb.

numbcat9.bsky.social•8 days ago

Y’all that isn’t his goal.

His goal is to destroy the United States.

I’m not sure what it gets you to not point this out. And by pretending he shares the same basic goal we do - American peace & prosperity - you end up helping him accomplish his goals.

linc50.bsky.social•8 days ago

Who does win, though? China seems to be plateauing. Does this revitalize them? Do Europe and Japan get off their butts? Who stands up? Is the US replaceable?

pottersville.bsky.social•8 days ago

The Democrats will try to put the country back together again post-Trump, and once again, will get booted out of office when they can't clean up Republican messes fast enough

mveetz.bsky.social•8 days ago

Surprised bezos let this opinion piece in!

petcharles.bsky.social•8 days ago

I think Trump just likes to claim he’s winning, which is feasible when he lies about everything.

walterdragon.bsky.social•8 days ago

bewellgroomed.bsky.social•8 days ago

As I say with my clients: Community is key; art is the way; joy now more than ever … onward we fight!

infinitelyloopy.bsky.social•8 days ago

Trump is very much a ‘now’ guy. In the famous $0.00 now or $0.25 later experiment w/kids he’s eating the cookie before the guy even finishes laying out the offer.

The scary thing is that his definition of a ‘win’ is entirely shaped by perverted masculinity, petty grievances and revenge

johnturp.bsky.social•8 days ago

All his enemies are domestic. All his glory is personal. He knows he'll be gone by 2100.

kapwen.bsky.social•8 days ago

They think the golden goose is tech. AI will replace people in science and research. It's pretty clear that most people are unnecessary in this version of the United States.

tomstpatrick.bsky.social•8 days ago

Excellent analysis.

mahsa-maleki.bsky.social•8 days ago

This was an excellent article.

hold-on-loosely.bsky.social•8 days ago

If he was a Russian asset he would be winning

drgeophysics.bsky.social•8 days ago

Too little and far too late. The WaPo loved their Republican Party for decades before eh? Too little and far too late. Only fools thought this Trump 2 revolution could be controlled. Time to run back to their gated communities.

ihavetosaythis.bsky.social•8 days ago

Time for decent Americans to actually turn out & VOTE. Put every ounce of energy into the 3 House elections in the next few weeks. Make it the biggest voter drive in history - to win back the House. This may be your last chance.

#resist #StopTrump #StopMusk #StopFascism

bkmeahan.bsky.social•8 days ago

bchanson.bsky.social•8 days ago

The king of bankruptcy. The only thing he knows about is self promotion.

martini-royale.bsky.social•8 days ago

The best part about tonight is that he's going to give his speech literally 4 hours after his self-created debacle has ended for the day

hpny.bsky.social•8 days ago

HE loves winning. But he couldn’t care less about Americans

johngordon.bsky.social•8 days ago

I wish he cared less. He hates about half of America and cares less only about the rest.

valerieberta.bsky.social•8 days ago

Yep.
Rinse and repeat.

scottsimonhaus.bsky.social•8 days ago

All the winning

gmarie55.bsky.social•8 days ago

No paywall..
https://archive.ph/CXTSE

tonydecorso.bsky.social•8 days ago

Great column. Can’t help wondering how long you’ll be able to remain at WaPo. 🤞

nothingsmonstrd.bsky.social•8 days ago

America's friends, America's business climate, America's world-leading science. So long as Trump is out of jail and raking in bribes, he's winning as far as he's concerned.

He doesn't give a damn about America and never has.

jmayday.bsky.social•8 days ago

How did these piece get by the Censor Gauntlet?

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